According to statistics compiled by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice, nearly 5 million Americans were subject to probation or parole jurisdiction at year end 2005. Monitoring the activity of these parolees and probationers, ensuring their compliance with court-ordered conditions and facilitating a smooth transition into a free and law-abiding life represents a significant expenditure of public resources. In 2006, the State of Texas alone spent $2.5 billion to house 151,741 adult inmates (a cost of $16,475 per inmate) in 115 state prisons. These costs will almost certainly increase over the coming years, as the number of inmates is projected to increase by 7% annually.
Currently, penal institutions facilitate the transition from incarceration to parole by providing the parolee with only a minimum amount of useful information. Usually, this information is provided via paper forms or pamphlets. Other types of persons released from structured environments also are in need of similar support. The format of this information does not lend itself to ease of use or efficiency nor is it capable of being regularly updated. Also, such practices typically do not integrate pre-release and post-release programs.
The State of Texas has instituted an innovative program, known as Project RIO, which aims to reduce recidivism through pre- and post-release employment assistance to incarcerated persons. Institutionalized persons are provided information, training and placement assistance before and after release from jail. However, this information is typically gathered by instructors and correctional officials and distributed to the offenders in a piecemeal, disorganized fashion. The system is also decentralized. Furthermore, Project RIO is no longer tracking recidivism. A system for providing many more comprehensive services, as well as streamlining and centralizing the process, is necessary to ensure the project's success.
An on-line career planning software tool, the Career Edge System (“CES”), is currently available. CES provides a full-service career planning program, available on-line at the CES website for readers and non-readers in Spanish and English. However, this program has not yet been offered to probationers and institutionalized individuals and those exiting, or needing support to avoid, a structured environment, nor has it been integrated as part of a probationary, parole, post release structured environment program, or other correctional program.
Systems and methods for providing management of a program of correctional supervision via a stored-value card have previously been proposed. The card can be used to access funds in a designated account. Funds from receipt of public benefits or employment compensation are transferred into the parolee's account. The parolee can use the stored-value card to purchase goods, pay bills, etc. The parole officer can access the account records and monitor the parolee's employment status and purchasing habits. While this system provides ample benefit to the parole officer and convenience to the parolee, it does not provide the parolee with information about services available to him. Additionally, this system fails to prepare the parolee for integration into the outside world prior to the parolee's release. Parolee or probationer monitoring systems are also known and used that utilize GPS positioning systems to monitor the location of a GPS receiver attached to the probationer or parolee.
Also known is a system and method for wireless schedule notification. Notification can be sent wirelessly to remind users of events noted on a schedule maintained on a central computer system. Such a system has not been applied to notify probationers or institutionalized individuals of scheduled appointments or to facilitate the provision of probation or post-release services.
There is thus a need for a system and method for providing offenders such as inmates, probationers, or parolees, other institutionalized persons, persons in the military, or students, pre- and post-release (or -discharge or -graduation), with an interactive, detailed and personalized guide for access and use of relevant social support and career services. Preferably, the system includes one or more portable electronic devices or media for accessing and using data relating to probationary or post-release services.